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Job fair today connects veterans, employers

More than 1,000 veterans are expected to attend a Brooklyn Center career fair Wednesday to connect with employers who are hiring.

The unemployment rate is twice the state average among Minnesotans who have served in the military in the past decade.

Veterans have a lot of skill and experience that is of value to employers, said Jim Finley, director of Veterans Employment Programs for the state of Minnesota. He said vets deserve some recognition of their service to the country.

"Veterans have put their lives on hold for the rest of the population.They have raised their right hand. They have sworn to defend the country and all of us who are here. And that's a sacrifice," Finley said. "So, veterans are highly deserving of focus when it comes to employment."

The career fair begins at 11 a.m. at the Earle Brown Heritage Center. More than 130 employers are attending. Finley hopes the career fair will help many vets land jobs.

"We do have service members returning from all branches all the time. And recognizing some of the values that veterans bring to business, we wanted to make sure that businesses understood that," Finley said. We also wanted to give them an opportunity to meet a lot of veterans in one place. We get calls on a very regular basis from Minnesota businesses that want to hire veterans."